More than ever confusion

[jpcortese]

I had my heart set on either the 2018 Denali or RST. Well, a new vehicle has entered the fray and right now I'm totally confused as to what to do. Yesterday, my wife and I test drove both the new Ford Expedition Limited and the Denali. We had each for one hour and test drove both over the same streets and highway making sure we traveled the same exact course. We also took turns driving each vehicle. Afterwards we stopped at Starbucks to compare mental notes. Here are our observations. As far as comfort, we both thought the Expedition was more spacious and comfortable. She thought the seats in the Denali were too hard. The second and third row seats in the Expedition offered more leg room. She giggled trying to sit in the 3rd row of the Denali and thought that only little kids could sit in them. Not a real problem since they would be seldom used. As far as performance, on the highway and going up to 80 miles an hour we both thought that they were equally the same. This was also the case from a standing start. That was a surprise since the Expedition had a 6 cylinder twin turbo charged engine and the Denali had the 6.2 v8. Anyway there was no difference that we could tell. Horsepower and torque felt the same. BTW, the Denali requires Premium fuel while the Expedition requires Regular. Not a concern for either of us however. Also we both felt that the 10 speed tranny in both were great and acted with the same smoothness. From a road handling point of view, we both felt the Denali felt more truck like and the Expedition more car like, but that is just a feeling. We both felt bumps more in the Denali. Could be because of the different suspensions. The Expedition felt bigger in all respects and that made parking a little more difficult, especially for her. We didn't measure the two but the Expedition looked to be longer and wider, but they seemed close. I didn't like the rotary shifter in the Expedition and she didn't like the column shifter in the Denali so that was pretty much a wash. Either would be acceptable although the rotary knob would take some getting used to. As to pricing, both were in the same ballpark so one didn't favor the other. From a cargo standpoint she didn't like the platform in the Denali and thought that the Expedition would be easier for her to load and unload groceries and other stuff. The Expedition cargo area also looked flatter. From a availability point of view, the GMC dealer had 8 Denali's while the Ford dealer only had one Limited. So there seems to be more Denali's to choose from. The Ford dealer said that they could order one to my specs and have in about 3 months. In conclusion, both are good choices although there are pluses and minuses with both. We are in no hurry to do anything so we agreed to think about it for awhile longer. Hopes this helps.

 

[LT1ZOB]

Seems as if the Mrs. favors the Expedition just a tad more. Mine wanted the Tahoe, hence I'm here. Happy wife, happy life.

 

[jpcortese]

I forgot to mention in my post that we did not observe any buffeting or vibration in either the Expedition or Denali and we were both looking for it.

 

[swathdiver]

You like the Ford's motor cutting out every time you stop? Deal breaker for me.

Consider also that the Ford is newly redesigned while the GM is mature. My Daddy taught me to never buy the first year model.

 

[Miami-Dade]

You like the Ford's motor cutting out every time you stop? Deal breaker for me.

I did not even know the Expedition even had the stop and start feature. That would be a deal breaker for me also. That is the last thing I would want driving around 24/7 gridlocked Miami Beach.

 

[ncpepperman]

A number of years ago, we went the Ford F 150 Super Crew route. After the exhaust manifold bolts rusted off and finding that Ford wouldn't cover the repairs under the emissions warranty,we decided to go with the "bullet proof" Toyotas for our next vehicles.

The brand new '11 Highlander Unlimited was in the shop more the first month than in my hands. After scouring this Forum and seeing many satisfied Tahoe and Denali owners with 100K 200 k plus on their vehicles and many of the same vehicles still on the road and in great shape, we bought an '18 Denali at the end of last year. So far so good and very satisfied. We know that the Denali has history and a track record, Ford and Toyota were out for us. Hopefully the GMC will serve us well in the years to come.

 

[GTNator]

They’re both good vehicles, and I think you laid out many of the differences. Like someone else said GM has been making the Suburban/variants for a long time, around 85 years. There’s a lot of history behind these GM trucks. And people LOVE them.

Also one thing you did not mention is how much better the Denali looks than the Ford. In many cases styling is subjective, but not in this case, it’s a fact, or as close as you can get to a fact, lol. Even on the Ford forums people will tell you: The Denali looks so much better but....

For me looks are important for a vehicle, it makes me smile every day when I walk up to my vehicle and it just looks striking. Denalis and really all the GM variants (Tahoe/Suburban/Escalade) are all striking. Slap some nice wheels on them and they’re downright gorgeous.

And don’t get me started about how nice those GM V8’s sound...


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[mikeyss]

I'm sorry for being the disagreeable one here, and don't get me wrong, I love my Tahoe.... But IMO... The new expy looks WaY better than any of the new Denali or Escalades, especially on the interior. I know as members on here we are to shun the Ford's, but in the case of the Expedition, they did their homework and have an awesome SUV. I got to sit in one and it's much nicer and that big a** sunroof.. looks and is awesome. However, I'm not about to spend 80k on one, and I'm more than happy with my 09 LTZ, I'm not giving it up any time soon.

 

[GTNator]

I'm sorry for being the disagreeable one here, and don't get me wrong, I love my Tahoe.... But IMO... The new expy looks WaY better than any of the new Denali or Escalades, especially on the interior. I know as members on here we are to shun the Ford's, but in the case of the Expedition, they did their homework and have an awesome SUV. I got to sit in one and it's much nicer and that big a** sunroof.. looks and is awesome. However, I'm not about to spend 80k on one, and I'm more than happy with my 09 LTZ, I'm not giving it up any time soon.

Everyone has their own opinion, np. Just to clarify, do you think the Expy looks better than the GM's on the EXTERIOR? If yes, then I would say you're in the minority. The interior is kind of subjective, but imo the exterior is close to universal. Kind of like stating the fact that a Ferrari exterior looks better than a Mazda Miata, its pretty close to universally accepted. And that's what I believe to be true about the EXTERIOR styling of GM vs Ford.

 

[mikeyss]

I like the new Expy inside And out, and I agree with you, I am the minority here with my opinion. IMO I don't like the current 15-18 Tahoe's, Yukon's, or Escalade's. There are some that our members have and made look really good, but these are IMO not the best that GM has done. To add to my reasoning why I'd choose the Expy is the horror stories I keep reading on here, especially with the 15-16 Tahoe's, etc. I dunno, I'll skip this current generation And see what the 2020 brings and see how many issues the new expy has till then, since they are still too new to judge.
Sorry for the ramble, I love my Tahoe and am not being a Ford Boy here, justy opinions and not knocking anyone's vehicles.

 

[Kpwweb]

Good posts. Let me throw in my $ since I own one of each, (We’ll, an Explorer anyway).

As for the Tahoe: it kills in mileage. I regularly get 22-24mpg on the highway (all-time high 34.9 for 20 mile average, don’t know how I did that!). It beats the explorer Ecoboost by a good 3-4mpg highway and 1-2mpg around town, in a vehicle that is 1000lbs heavier.

Infotainment: I HATE the Ford. GM is hands down better. I can have local radio stations mixed in with satellite and arranged any way I like. The Ford is totally stupid-I have to go to radio home, switch bands and then choose my preset... About 4-5 screen and/or button presses later. This is soooo 1980s! Ford, we are nearing the 2020’s, get with it! I drive a lot and this really is annoying and distracting. Or some say, “I can use the steering wheel controls and it’s only like 6 button presses...” Great...

Had minor problems and repairs on both—so reliability so far is a wash. Both are good.

Cargo floor-GM, this is stupid. Ford wins hands down. It has a well or folds flat. I got so tired of the Tahoe dumping stuff out the back when I opened the lift gate that I removed the third row and “storage area”. Problem solved—but I shouln’t have to do that. GM, you can do better.

Did I mention I like a V8? The Ecoboost V6 is a good motor—and a rocket ship! But these vehicles are so heavy you are in boost most of the time—see mileage above.

When I want to “drive”, I take the wife’s Explorer Sport. When I want to get somewhere, especially long distances, I take my Tahoe.

So both are good. There is no such thing as a perfect vehicle. See if you can live with both for longer than an hour, might uncover more deal breakers or makers.

Have fun!

 

[mikeyss]

What year is your Explorer? My friend has a 2016 explorer sport, and that thing is like a rocket, and it is pretty even tied racing him in my 09 Tahoe tuned 6.2 here at Mile high. I think his radio interface is a bit wierd, but I haven't really played with GM 15-18 systems. I really have only driven them a few times.

 

[swathdiver]

I got so tired of the Tahoe dumping stuff out the back when I opened the lift gate that I removed the third row and “storage area”.

Cargo net.

My friend has a 2016 explorer sport, and that thing is like a rocket, and it is pretty even tied racing him in my 09 Tahoe tuned 6.2 here at Mile high.

The advantage of turbos at high altitude. Turbos under boost is like flushing the toilet as far as economy goes. If those V6s are around 300 horses naturally aspirated, a single turbo would be plenty for towing and maintaining speed on the highway. Two means they are small, or one is, adding complexity and reducing reliability and making it more expensive in the long run for everybody.

 

[MichaelSE]

Cargo floor-GM, this is stupid. Ford wins hands down. It has a well or folds flat. I got so tired of the Tahoe dumping stuff out the back when I opened the lift gate that I removed the third row and “storage area”. Problem solved—but I shouln’t have to do that. GM, you can do better.

I guess that's the tradeoff of having a solid rear axle - less cargo space in the hatch and less headroom in the 3rd row. A tradeoff that's worth it IMO.

 

[swathdiver]

I haven't checked the latest specs but when I did comparisons between all the '09s the competition often had more impressive towing numbers but in the real world GMs SUVs could carry more and tow more weight.

 

[rumline]

Good thread. I'm in a similar boat as the OP and have test driven both this past week. I agree with most of his assessments.

You like the Ford's motor cutting out every time you stop? Deal breaker for me.

The Auto Stop/Start can be disabled by unplugging the wire that powers the system. Looks downright trivial: https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/how-to-turn-off-a-s-s-system.36214/ Or if you get a tune you could remove it via software.

I'm sorry for being the disagreeable one here, and don't get me wrong, I love my Tahoe.... But IMO... The new expy looks WaY better than any of the new Denali or Escalades, especially on the interior. I know as members on here we are to shun the Ford's, but in the case of the Expedition, they did their homework and have an awesome SUV. I got to sit in one and it's much nicer and that big a** sunroof.. looks and is awesome.

I'll quibble with your disagreement. I really dislike the F150-ness of the Expedition dashboard. The huge and overemphasized hvac vents look ridiculous to me. They got the aesthetics backwards...the inside looks like a truck and the outside looks like a minivan. Some people say the new Expedition looks like the Explorer. I beg to differ; the Explorer actually looks cool. With that said the interior still manages to have a pulled-together feel.

The Denali interior looks more like a luxury vehicle, for the most part. IMHO it has too much of that brushed aluminum and the rubber around the knobs is pretty cheap looking.

 

[Glisella]

I did not even know the Expedition even had the stop and start feature. That would be a deal breaker for me also. That is the last thing I would want driving around 24/7 gridlocked Miami Beach.

This feature can be disabled.

 

[dbbd1]

My .02?
I like start/stop technology. It seemed very responsive to me when braking and applying the go pedal.

Now, as to how much CO and other pollutants it will save? Who knows, but it's another step.

 

[ncpepperman]

Good thread. I'm in a similar boat as the OP and have test driven both this past week. I agree with most of his assessments.


The Auto Stop/Start can be disabled by unplugging the wire that powers the system. Looks downright trivial: https://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/how-to-turn-off-a-s-s-system.36214/ Or if you get a tune you could remove it via software.


I'll quibble with your disagreement. I really dislike the F150-ness of the Expedition dashboard. The huge and overemphasized hvac vents look ridiculous to me. They got the aesthetics backwards...the inside looks like a truck and the outside looks like a minivan. Some people say the new Expedition looks like the Explorer. I beg to differ; the Explorer actually looks cool. With that said the interior still manages to have a pulled-together feel.

The Denali interior looks more like a luxury vehicle, for the most part. IMHO it has too much of that brushed aluminum and the rubber around the knobs is pretty cheap looking.

I must respectfully disagree in your assessment that the "rubber around the knobs" looks cheap. They're functional, feel good to the touch and don't clash with the dash. What would be your alternative?

 

[LI Tahoe]

The expedition is light years ahead of the Yukon/Tahoe/Esky. You're comparing a new gen model against and old one. I'm sure when the 2020 GM FS SUV's come out they will have caught up to the interior quality and drive quality of the new Expedition and Navigator